Philae Mission

The craft had been programmed for a "controlled impact", at a human walking pace of about 90cm per second.

US space agency NASA is poised on Thursday to launch its groundbreaking first mission to a near-Earth asteroid to collect samples that could shed light on the dawn of the solar system.

Ground controllers bid a final farewell today to robot lab Philae, cutting communications after a year-long silence with the tiny probe hurtling through space on the surface of a comet.

"The mission is coming to an end as a result of the spacecraft's ever-increasing distance from the Sun and Earth", said a statement by the ESA.

It really is the little lander that could.

Europe's comet-riding robot lab Philae has fallen "silent", said ground controllers today who feared it may have shifted on the rough, alien surface, out of radio range.

"I'm awake! How long have I been asleep?" This message was tweeted on Sunday by the European Space Agency's spacecraft Philae. The probe tumbled into a dark ditch on a comet last November after problems landing on the icy surface. Deprived of sunlight, Philae's solar panels were unable to supply power, and the craft was feared lost. But Philae's re...

Europe's comet lander Philae has remained obstinately silent since a new bid was launched to communicate with it, mission chiefs said today, but chances for contact were improving daily.

"There is unlikely to be another opportunity for a dedicated lander search until later in the mission, possibly next year."

The study helps scientists better understand how comets form in the first place, how their surfaces evolve over time and how to potentially predict their lifespans.

No trumpet sounded to mark the historic event -- instead, it was a hollow, springy plop which heralded last week's landing by the comet probe Philae.

Mankind's first-ever probe of a comet found traces of organic molecules and a surface much harder than imagined, scientists said on Tuesday of initial sample data from robot lab Philae.

Gas jets from inside a comet hosting Europe's Philae lander may launch the hibernating probe out of its ditch and back into sunlight for a battery recharge, a former mission manager said on Monday.

Europe's deep-space robot lab Philae worked against the clock Friday, attempting to drill into a comet 510 million kilometres (320 million miles) from Earth to crown a historic exploration before its battery runs out.

Robot lab Philae drilled into its host comet on Friday with just hours of battery left, but may lose power before it can transmit results of a much-anticipated attempt to probe below the surface, mission scientists said.

The craft had been programmed for a "controlled impact", at a human walking pace of about 90cm per second.

US space agency NASA is poised on Thursday to launch its groundbreaking first mission to a near-Earth asteroid to collect samples that could shed light on the dawn of the solar system.

Ground controllers bid a final farewell today to robot lab Philae, cutting communications after a year-long silence with the tiny probe hurtling through space on the surface of a comet.

"The mission is coming to an end as a result of the spacecraft's ever-increasing distance from the Sun and Earth", said a statement by the ESA.

It really is the little lander that could.

Europe's comet-riding robot lab Philae has fallen "silent", said ground controllers today who feared it may have shifted on the rough, alien surface, out of radio range.

"I'm awake! How long have I been asleep?" This message was tweeted on Sunday by the European Space Agency's spacecraft Philae. The probe tumbled into a dark ditch on a comet last November after problems landing on the icy surface. Deprived of sunlight, Philae's solar panels were unable to supply power, and the craft was feared lost. But Philae's re...

Europe's comet lander Philae has remained obstinately silent since a new bid was launched to communicate with it, mission chiefs said today, but chances for contact were improving daily.

"There is unlikely to be another opportunity for a dedicated lander search until later in the mission, possibly next year."

The study helps scientists better understand how comets form in the first place, how their surfaces evolve over time and how to potentially predict their lifespans.

No trumpet sounded to mark the historic event -- instead, it was a hollow, springy plop which heralded last week's landing by the comet probe Philae.

Mankind's first-ever probe of a comet found traces of organic molecules and a surface much harder than imagined, scientists said on Tuesday of initial sample data from robot lab Philae.

Gas jets from inside a comet hosting Europe's Philae lander may launch the hibernating probe out of its ditch and back into sunlight for a battery recharge, a former mission manager said on Monday.

Europe's deep-space robot lab Philae worked against the clock Friday, attempting to drill into a comet 510 million kilometres (320 million miles) from Earth to crown a historic exploration before its battery runs out.

Robot lab Philae drilled into its host comet on Friday with just hours of battery left, but may lose power before it can transmit results of a much-anticipated attempt to probe below the surface, mission scientists said.